This invention generally relates to vending machines and, particularly, to an electronic coin accepting apparatus for use in a vending machine and including first and second retainers for inhibiting movement of a sensor relative to the coin accepting apparatus.
Generally, coin acceptors validate the presence and value of coins deposited in a vending machine. Various sensors, e.g., inductive, optical and capacitive sensors, detect characteristics or parameters of the coins deposited in a coin track for validating the coins. A typical coin acceptor includes a pair of parallel, spaced-apart plates defining the coin track for receiving the coins and guiding them to a coin receptacle. The acceptor is arranged in a housing of the vending machine and the sensors are positioned on one or both plates defining the coin track.
Conventional mass-produced coin acceptor systems, however, often provide inaccurate coin measurements due to measuring tolerances of the sensor elements. Further, movement of the sensor elements within the coin acceptor exacerbates the errors associated with measuring tolerances. For these reasons, the measuring quality of conventional coin acceptors is significantly limited. Also, continual adjustments to coin acceptor systems are often necessary due to the movement of the sensor elements, thus, increasing cost.